Living In France? Learn the Language!

Anyone can learn French! Believe me if a woman of 55 with no O Levels and a poor education can do it so can you.

When we first decided to buy a holiday home in France I tended to rely on my partner who pretty much knew the lingo. Later, when we concluded the time had come to up roots and live here full-time, my mind went into fast-forward. There I was in a nursing home unable to make myself understood - not a vision to relish. That thought made me shift myself into gear.

I trawled the shelves of W.H. Smith, Waterstones and the like, only to be shocked by the cost of language courses. What should I choose? Would I stay the course? Had I the ability? And anyway, surely the language would just come to me?

Well it didn’t of course, and I soon became very frustrated, not least at being unable to get my point across with our builders and in the shops. I am resourceful, though, and managed sometimes to make my meaning clear by other means. Once I even parked my car across the gate, holding a team of decorators hostage until they finished the job the way I wanted it done. Nonetheless in spite of my ingenuity I realised this could not go on. I had to knuckle under and put in the hours.

Naturally, I knew some kitchen and restaurant French. I had even noticed from buying tights in M& S that moyenne must mean medium. But I had very little general vocabulary and absolutely no grammar at all.

Back I went to W.H. Smith this time armed with a £25 book token given to me by my brother. That £70 language course suddenly seemed more affordable at £45. Michel Thomas was my chosen tutor and what a find he turned out to be. The accompanying leaflet intimated that very little effort was needed. Don’t make notes, just listen and you will learn, it said. Well, that was perhaps a bit ambitious. I found that, in order for it to sink in, I certainly had to make some notes and study consciously in order to learn vocabulary. I also had to get my head around saying a sentence in what seemed to be the wrong way round.

But then with the benefit of listening to a few CD’s I found that I could actually talk to French people, and, more than that, they could understand what I was saying. The feeling was so uplifting that it spurred me on to complete the course of 8 discs, after which I could make myself understood in almost any situation.

This is not a magic bullet, but it certainly did get me started. After that I enrolled for a course of lessons locally.

I don’t think that I will ever speak French well. My accent is too English, but I am told that it is very attractive - even sexy. What a pity I have this advantage when I have just turned 60....... well, there is another story!

This is not a magic bullet, but it certainly did get me started. After that I enrolled for a course of lessons locally.

Is This The Best Way to Learn French?

by Sue Hay

Yes, Learn French, But Do It The Easy Way

Watching French films and television drama can help you absorb culture and improve your language skills, says Patrick Hay.

US films and television programmes have taught us almost everything we know about the country. We’ve become familiar with drive-in movies, baby showers and

the high school prom without ever experiencing them ourselves. Could we learn about France and the French in the same way, by watching French films and television?

It’s the language, of course, that’s the big barrier. Plus the fact that many French programmes aren’t particularly interesting to us: chat shows, for instance, featuring French celebrities we’ve never heard of. And even proficient French speakers find it hard work to follow regional accents, rapid fire delivery, mumbling actors and modern slang.

But French films and television drama can help you. If you have a DVD player, treat yourself to an entertaining French film, listen in French and follow every line of dialogue through the French (not English) subtitles. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll pick up new words and phrases that you can use in your own conversations.

Head for your local supermarket or video store and look for real French films. (avoid US films re-branded with French-sounding titles). Happily, the French films are often much cheaper than the Hollywood offerings. Next, make sure that the film you’ve chosen comes with French subtitles. Usually this is indicated on the box with the words “Sous-titres pour sourds et malentendants” (subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing). Or look for a hearing disability symbol. If neither is present don’t buy the film!

The great thing about learning language and culture this way is that you don’t need text books or formal study. There’s no exam to worry about either but, if you live here, you can always put your new vocabulary to the test by going out and using it the next day.

Frogsiders’ recommendations:

Sur Mes Levres. The story of an ambitious deaf girl who employs an ex-convict. But who is using whom?

Les Soeurs Fâchées A simple country girl visits her sophisticated, wealthy Parisian sister who seems to have everything. Which one is truly happy?

Je Crois Que Je L’aime A successful unmarried businessman meets an artist he thinks he could love. Is asking a private eye to find out more about her a good idea?

Ah! Si J’étais Riche The wife of a sales rep decides to divorce him just as he wins the lottery. He decides not to tell anyone but he can’t resist enjoying a little of the high life.

Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis The hugely successful comedy about a La Poste employee transferred from the south to northern France.

La Maison du Bonheur Slapstick farce with Dany Boon (of Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis fame).

If you like a good radio serial - and especially if you enjoy a mystery, you could thoroughly enjoy learning French by listening to Radio France International’s “L’Affaire du Coffret”.

It’s described as a “bi-lingual crime serial” and it follows the adventures of “Lucas, a British journalist, who wakes up in a hotel room with the mother of all headaches. He can’t remember a thing. Room service brings him breakfast and a parcel containing 20,000 euros, a Walkman® with a minidisc and a note: "A bientôt, Nadia". So, he must be in Paris, but who’s this Nadia? Next, a police officer asks him to come to the station… Is he an accomplice or a victim of a crime? Lucas decides to trust no-one and to carry out a private investigation – rather a tall order for someone who has lost his memory and doesn’t speak French beyond "bonjour" and "au revoir".

The series starts off in English, but as Lucas, and you the listener, become more familiar with the language, the dialogue is increasingly French, until, by the final episode you are listening and understanding to a 100% French programme.

That’s the theory, anyway, and it’s surely worth a go. You can listen online or download the episodes from RFI here. Put them on your i-Pod or Walkman and listen to them on long car trips, bike rides, or just sitting with a whisky in front of the fire. The programme includes exercises and quizzes to help you remember what you’ve learnt.

Radio - An Even Easier Way To Better French!